Improving Student Takeaway in an Introductory Numerical Analysis/Scientific Computing Course - A Threshold Concepts Approach.

Here we describe a project whose goal is to address issues associated with student takeaway, i.e., enduring learning, in an introductory course in Numerical Analysis/Scientific Computing (NA/SC) commonly taught in undergraduate programs in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Engineering. We have employed the well-known framework of Threshold Concepts (TCs) in order to identify essential ”takeaway” concepts in an introductory NA/SC course. We report on the four TCs we have proposed for NA/SC and discuss how the TC framework can be used to improve student takeaway.